Normal Again
by bubblemoon66
Summary: Skulduggery and Valkyrie go monster hunting in the sewers of Dublin, but things get complicated when Valkyrie falls mysteriously ill. Set between KotW and LSoDM. Cannon Compliant Case Fic.
1. The Hunt Begins

_**This story was originally posted to AO3 and tumblr. It's based on/inspired by an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer of the same name. Later chapters will include some scenes of violence and gore. Will be updated semi-regularly.**_

* * *

Valkyrie grimaced as Skulduggery pried open the manhole cover. He set it to one side, next to a large black duffel bag he had brought with him.  
"Please tell me we are not actually going to down there" she said. He glanced towards her, "Of course we are! Where did you think we were going when I said 'we're going monster hunting in the sewers tonight'?"  
"I thought it was a joke! I didn't really think we were going to be swimming in a sewer. We're not exactly dressed for the occasion".

"Where's your sense of adventure?" he said before picking up the bag, taking one large step and letting himself fall into the hole and into the darkness below.

"Says the man with no sense of smell," she muttered under her breathe before sighing. She stepped over to the manhole and looked down. It was late at night and there was no moon out, but the streetlights above her illuminated the first few feet of the shaft. She could see the grey stone and the first few rungs of a ladder, but after that there was just darkness. It was narrow and dank and she had no idea how deep it was, "You know I'm claustrophobic" she called down.

"You'll be fine, it's rather spacious once you reach the bottom" his voice wafted back up. He didn't sound too far away, so that was something at least. She sighed once more and lowered herself into the hole. Her feet dangled in the air for a moment before they found the ladder's rungs. She shifted her weight so her hands could grip the ladder as well. The metal was cold and slimy against her skin. She balked at the feeling and, wanting to minimise the time she spent touching the metal, she let herself drop the rest of the way. She used her magic to cushion her fall, it wasn't hard, she'd had plenty of practice jumping out of her bedroom window by now.

It was dark and damp down the hole, but at least the smell was not quite as bad as she had been expecting.  
"Skulduggery?" she called out, she couldn't see him but she could hear him rummaging around for something.

"Just a minute…ah, here we go," at that a bright light lit up the tunnel. Valkyrie's eyes took a moment to adjust but once they did she could see that the light was coming from a hardhat with a built in flashlight. Skulduggery handed it to her, "Put this on, if we find this monster you're going to need your hands free."

She put the hat on then nodded, causing it to slip forward over her eyes. She adjusted the hat, making a mental note to avoid moving her head too much.

Now that she could see, she noticed that they were standing on a small platform raised a few centimetres above a filthy stream. Skulduggery bent back over the bag for a moment before pulling out two fluorescent orange jumpsuits.

She scowled at him, "I am not wearing that. It's hideous, it's orange. _Orange_ , Skulduggery! I don't wear orange, I wear cool black clothes and you wear stylish tailored suits, that's our thing. We shouldn't change our thing."

She could tell from the way he tilted his head the he was amused by her reaction. "I'm not going to force you to wear it, but you should think about where we are before you say no,"

Valkyrie looked back down at the filthy water, and then back up at the slimy walls. She snatched one of the suits from his grasp, "I hate you so much,"  
"For packing orange jumpsuits?"  
"For dragging me down this stinking hole. Next time we're going somewhere fun, like the cinema or, I don't know, an amusement park or something."  
"Well, if I hear of any monsters attacking mortals at an amusement park, I'll be sure to let you know."

She turned her back to him and slipped on the jumpsuit over the clothes Ghastly had made her. The suit was made from a thick material, possibly Kevlar. But she didn't know a lot about the monster they were hunting tonight, so she left her protective clothes on underneath.

Like the hat, the clothing was too big for her. The material was elasticated at the wrists and ankles, but the rest of it hung loosely off her frame. She zipped up the suit as high as she could get it and then looked down at her unprotected hands, "I don't suppose you have any gloves in that bag? Or boots?"  
"Ah, yes. Now that you mention it bringing those would have been a good idea."

She turned around to berate him again, but stopped short at the sight of him standing there in the matching jumpsuit. She couldn't help herself from laughing, "You look ridiculous."  
"Well if it makes you feel any better, so do you,"  
"Why would that make me feel better?"  
"I thought seeing someone you admire so much looking ridiculous might upset you. So I thought if you knew how ridiculous you looked you wouldn't feel so bad about it."  
Her brow furrowed, "You are so weird. Why do I even hangout with you?"  
He shrugged, "Who else would take you on an adventure though Dublin's sewerage system?" and with that he stepped off the platform and into the water below."

Against her better judgment, she followed him. The water was thinker than it should have been and full of debris but it wasn't deep. It didn't even reach her knees, and the clothing kept her dry and safe from whatever diseases lurked in sewage. She tried hard not to think about what she was wading through, failed, and muttered "This is by far, the grossest thing I have ever done."

Skulduggery didn't hear her, or at least pretend not to. They'd come to a junction in the sewer and he was busy looking at a map. She caught up with him and glanced at the page, "We are here," he sad pointing at the map. Then he pointed to a red X, "here is where the sewage maintenance worker says he and his colleague were attacked." He traced a path from the red X to their location, "this is the path they took to get there. We're going to retrace their steps, and hope we find some trace of the missing worker,"  
"Wait, missing worker? I thought you said we were looking for a monster."  
"We are. When the mortals were attacked, they split up and tried to run. The monster chased after one of them and the other got away. I'm hoping if we find the missing man, or what's left of him, it'll lead us to the monster." He glanced at her, like he was surprised she didn't know this, "Did you even read the briefing Ravel gave you?"  
"What briefing?"  
He looked at her incredulously, which was pretty impressive for someone with no face, "The one he handed you this morning"

She thought back to this morning and vaguely remembered Ravel handing her a large file full of papers. She remembered he'd given them to her early in the morning, before she'd had her morning coffee. She'd been too grumpy to read them, so she'd tossed them in her to-do pile, before getting up and going to find some caffeine.

"Oh right...that briefing. I uh, definitely meant to read it, and you know what they say: it's the thought that counts, right?  
"I don't think anyone says that."  
She shrugged, "Right well, whatever. So what do we know about this monster?"

"Not a whole lot. The man who escaped wasn't exactly clear on the details. He just said something big and scary jumped out at them and attacked, it threw him across the tunnel and he hit his head against the wall. His colleague ran off and the monster followed him."

"So we pretty much have no idea what were up against."  
"No, but I like to think that only adds to the adventure."

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while, Skulduggery consulting the map every time they reached a junction. They had been walking for about twenty minutes, when a sudden thought struck Valkyrie, "Do you think it's a mutant?" she blurted out, "Like a human sized mutant turtle or a rat, that knows ninjutsu"  
He stopped and stared at her again with those big empty eye sockets, "I have no idea what you're talking about."  
"You know, teenage mutant ninja turtles?"  
"I don't know what that is, but I'm going to assume it's safe to say that's not what we'll be fighting today."  
"Oh," she said feeling a little disappointed. They continued on in silence again, until they reached the place marked with an 'X' on the map, "Here we are," Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie looked around. This tunnel was much the same as the others, except the water was a little deeper and a little faster. There was another junction up ahead, presumably that was where the monster had jumped out from. She glanced at Skulduggery, he was staring at the wall. She followed his gaze and her helmet light illuminated a patch of dried blood.  
"This is where the guy who was thrown across the room landed?"  
"Yes, I think so. The monster must have come from that direction," Skulduggery said nodding towards the junction on the left, "for the maintenance worker to be thrown against this wall."  
"Right, so which way did the other guy go?"  
"My bet? Back the way we came. If the monster was as big as the briefing suggested, he wouldn't have wanted to try and squeeze past it." Skulduggery turned on his heels, and set off back down the tunnel. Valkyrie's shoulders sagged, "But we just walked that way."  
"Which is precisely why it is back the way we came. Come on."

She followed him, this time keeping a closer eye on her surroundings, looking for any sign of a struggle, but she didn't see any. They didn't walk far this time - only until they reached another junction they had passed earlier. _If the man had been chased down here this would have been his first opportunity to try and loose his pursuer_ , Valkyrie realised.  
"Do you think he turned here?" she asked, peering down one tunnel and then the other.  
Skulduggery nodded, "There's a glove-print on the wall of the tunnel on the right. I saw it the first time we passed. He probably turned the corner too sharply and had to use his hands to steady himself."

Valkyrie looked back down the right-hand tunnel. It took her a moment to spot what Skulduggery had noticed. There was a small bit of the wall, roughly the shape and size of an adult human hand, that was cleaner than the rest. The dirt must have come off the wall when the man's gloved hand touched it.

They started down the tunnel, walking slowly, so as to inspect the walls for further clues. Valkyrie didn't bother to search the floor though, the stream would have washed away any clues which had fallen into it. Plus, the whole sewage thing was still grossing her out. They reached yet another junction without seeing anything of interest.

"Which way now?"

Skulduggery hesitated, Valkyrie could tell he wasn't sure himself. After looking around, and finding nothing, he instead opened up the map.  
"There's an old maintenance hatch about 800 meters down the tunnel on the left. It's not used now but if the man knew about it, it's possible he might have tried to escape that way."

They took the left-hand tunnel until they reached the hatch Skulduggery had mentioned. There was a ladder there like the one they had come down. Valkyrie climbed it and tried opening the hatch from the inside, it didn't budge, she could see it had been welded shut.  
"He didn't get out this way," she said, jumping down. "Do you think he would have tried the hatch and then kept running when he realised he couldn't open it?"

Skulduggery shook his head, "If he tried to open it the monster would have caught up with him. But there's no sign of a struggle here, and I don't think he would have ran past it either. No, I think he didn't know about this hatch. I doubt he even came down this tunnel".  
"So, we're going back the way we came?"  
"We are," Skulduggery confirmed, setting off again.

Valkyrie followed, trying to ignore her sore legs. It wasn't easy walking through water the texture of a chunky soup in over-sized overalls.

When they reached the previous junction they stopped again.  
"Which one do we try now?" she asked.  
Skulduggery paused and peered down one of the tunnels they hadn't yet entered, and then the other.  
"I'm not sure, he could have gone either way. There are more junctions ahead whichever way we choose and it'll be difficult to tell which ones he would have taken or how far he got,"  
"We could split up," she suggested half-heartedly.  
"That's not a good idea. We don't know what were facing and there's only one map between us".

She nodded, a little relived. She knew that without Skulduggery and his map she would have no idea how to get back to the surface. And, she didn't particularly fancy getting lost down here, or fighting an unknown danger without him.

She looked down one tunnel and then the other. "It'll take forever to search these tunnels if we do't find any clues. Maybe we're missing something."

He didn't respond but she could tell he was searching for something that might give a clue as to where the missing mortal had gone. She followed his lead, and went back to staring at the walls, seeing if there was anything they had overlooked. She focused on the tunnel straight ahead of her, taking a few steps into it. The light on her hat gave her a good look at the first couple of hundred metres in front of her, but everything beyond that fell into a murky darkness. She knew Skulduggery would be able to see a little bit further than her, as he didn't need light to see. But from his lack of reaction she doubted there was anything interesting up ahead.

She walked another few metres down the tunnel and spent another ten minutes, staring at the slimy walls and ceiling. She was bored now and tired. She wondered what time it was. She wondered how long they'd been down here. An hour? Two? She wondered how much longer they'd spend down here.

Skulduggery was looking at the water now, using his magic to move it around and get a better look at the floor underneath. She didn't know what he expected to find and she didn't bother asking. She left him to it, and wandered into the other tunnel, the only one they hadn't been down. There was nothing of interest to see here either. She took a few steps down the tunnel, but her hardhat illuminated nothing new. She was starting to feel sorry for herself now, it was so _boring_ down here. Her feet hurt, she was tired, and her clothes were uncomfortable. She could have sworn the smell was getting worse, it was starting to make her feel nauseous...and...

 _ **It's colder down here**_ , the voice in her head said, **_specifically your ring is colder_**. She jumped, then swore under her breathe for letting Darquesse surprise her. She pushed the voice back down again, but she couldn't ignore what it had said. Her ring was ever so slightly colder. She could feel the presence of death down these tunnels. She reached out with her necromancy and felt the path ahead of her.

"Skulduggery," she called out and within moments he was by her side, "There's a dead body down this way."


	2. Fight and Flight

Skulduggery and Valkyrie set off towards the body without saying another word. She could feel his eyeless gaze on her as she led the way. She considered telling him that it had been Darquesse who had noticed the body. But she had a feeling he had guessed that already, and admitting to it out loud would only mean they'd have to talk about it. And talking about Darquesse was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

Her ring grew colder and the presence of death stronger with every step she took. It was easy to track now. _Left here. Now straight ahead. Left again..._ and there it was, a corpse laying face down in the water. Valkyrie gagged. The smell was definitely worse down here. Not only had the body started to rot but it was blocking the flow of the river and causing a buildup of sewage. Trying to suppress her gag reflex she took a step closer. The body was bloated and coated with filth. But underneath the dirt she could just about see a hardhat and an orange jumpsuit. Just like the ones they were wearing, but better fitting.

She watched as Skulduggery approached the body, examining it with care. He took his time, kneeling over it and drawing clean water from the air to wash away some of the muck. Valkyrie forced herself to help him, despite her churning stomach. She didn't see any obvious cause of death and from Skulduggery's silence she assumed he was as clueless about it as she was.

They turned the body over and Valkyrie took a moment to study the dead man's face. He had been middle-aged, with no remarkable features, but his expression was one of fear. Despite the fact that his body bore no signs of injury, Valkyrie could tell that he hadn't died peacefully.

"He's been dead a while, but I don't see any signs of a fight or our monster. We'll have to take the body to the Sanctuary. I don't think we'll find out much without an autopsy." Skulduggery said, straightening up. Valkyrie agreed. She wondered what kind of monster had done this. She knew there were plenty of ways a mage, or even a mortal, could kill without leaving any evidence behind. But a monster? Most of the proper monsters they'd dealt with before, had been like wild animals. Unintelligent, their killing messy and instinctive.

"Skulduggery?" she said, as a sudden idea stuck her, "I just had a thought...you know how most monsters we've fought before have tried to eat us?"  
"Usually it's just you they try and eat,"  
"Yeah well, my point is that the monster didn't eat this man."  
"Obviously,"  
"So why would it attack two grown men who were just going about their job?"  
"That is an interesting question" he titled his head, thinking it over. "People kill other people for all sorts of reasons: power, money, revenge, boredom...the list goes on. Monsters on the other hand usually have more primal reasons: they're hungry, they're protecting their young, they feel threatened."  
"Exactly," she nodded in excitement, causing the helmet to slip over her eyes once more. She fixed it and then glanced at him. He met her gaze. She could tell they were on the same page.  
"I remember something my reflection learnt in school. About how hippos kill way more people than lions because they're a lot more territorial,"  
"Ah, you think these mortals were attacked because they wandered into the monsters territory?"  
She nodded again, holding her hat in place this time. He paused, mulling over the suggestion.  
"I've heard worse theories. Of course that doesn't explain how this man died or why it hasn't attacked us yet."  
"Oh right yeah," she said a bit disappointed. Then she shrugged it off, "Maybe it's asleep?"  
"Well there's an easy way to test that theory,"  
"There is?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. She couldn't think of one.

He turned back towards the corpse, plucked the helmet off the dead man's head, and threw it as hard as he could. Valkyrie cringed as it bounced off the tunnel walls making a loud clattering sound that echoed all around them. He must have used magic to propel his throw because it went a lot further than she expected it to. She only just heard the sound of a distant splash of water as it came to a stop.

"Do you want the monster to know were here?!" Valkyrie hissed at him.  
He glanced back at her, she had a feeling that if he'd had any eyes he would have been rolling them. "If we can not find the monster, we'll let the monster find us."  
She huffed in annoyance, "Yeah well, I sort of have this unspoken rule that I never let monsters know where I am when I'm hunting them."  
"That's very wise," he said. "But my way is quicker. And believe it or not, I'm dying to get out of these clothes. It pains me to say it, but you were right: Orange jumpsuits are not our thing."

She opened her mouth to speak, a witty retort the tip of her tongue, but shut it when she heard the faint sound of wet footsteps. Skulduggery motioned to her to get ready. She moved into a solid fighting stance, summoning a fireball into her hands, while he did the same.

A discernible mass appeared in the tunnel before them. It was dark. It was large. It was coming straight at them.

The monster belted towards them on all fours at a tremendous speed. Valkyrie barely had time to register it's slimy scales, quivering muscles and long thick tail before it was upon them. They thew the fireballs and it roared in pain. But it kept on coming. It barged past them, knocking into them like they were bowling pins. Valkyrie crashed into the wall with a painful thud. Her helmet went flying off her head. It hit the ground and the light on it flickered and went out.

She scrambled to her feet. It was pitch black for a moment before Skulduggery let loose a long stream of flames. They licked at the monster's scales and it roared again. It reared back onto it's hind legs and Valkyrie watched as two large spikes extended from it's front legs. They were as long as swords and as thin as needles. The monster rushed at Skulduggery, forcing him to cut off the flames, as he dodged it's attack.

She summoned another fireball and threw it at the monster. It turned it's great bulbous head away from Skulduggery and charged at her. A swipe of it's tail knocking Skulduggery back. She summoned more fire and threw it. But it kept on coming. She tried to take a step back but she tripped over the corpse and fell to the ground.

In desperation, she tried to gather more flames. She needed to see. She needed to...The monster loomed over her, back on it's hind legs. One of the spikes lunged towards her chest and she lashed out with shadows in one hand and flames in the other.

She felt pressure over her heart as the spike dug into her clothing. It pierced her jumpsuit but stopped short at Ghastly's clothes. At the same time she dug the shadows into it's face. They cut through the creature's scales and blue-green blood dripped onto her. The wound was shallow but it was something.

The creature hissed, withdrew the spike, and plunged it towards her again. This time it it aimed at her exposed throat.

 _ **Move you stupid girl!**_ Darquesse yelled. She obeyed without question. Twisting at the last moment, so the spike only scratched her rather than skewering her. Even still, she yelped as white hot pain filled her skull. For a second it was as if someone had shone a flashlight straight into her pupils. But then the light faded and she was back in the dark sewer. She reached out blindly with the shadows, digging them deeper into the monster in front of her. More blood dripped down onto her.

 _ **You know, this would be a lot easier if you'd let me handle it.** _  
_Shut up!_ She thought, and then: _Where the hell was Skulduggery?!_

Three shots answered her question. Her ears rang as the sounds of gunfire filled her ears. The monster turned away from her. She used the opportunity to stand and create another fireball. It seemed like it did more to anger the creature than hurt it. But it was her only way she could see what was going on.

Three more shots rang out. She didn't know how many had hit the monster. She attacked again, hoping to give Skulduggery the time to reload his revolver. The monster lunged towards him, and at the same time, slammed its tail into Valkyrie's stomach. The force of it send her flying through the air backwards. She landed awkwardly on her back and groaned. Her clothes had absorbed most of the impact, saving her a few broken bones, but she knew she'd be feeling bruised tomorrow.

She sat up. The sound of gunfire filled her ear's once more. The monster gave a primordial shriek of pain, louder than any before. She summoned another flame, so she see what was going on. She saw the monster racing towards her, on all fours again. She saw it leap over the corpse, with no signs of slowing down. It reached her, and instinctively she ducked and it kept on running.

Skulduggery was hot on its heels. As he passed her he grabbed her hand, pulled her up and suddenly they were darting through the air. They were gaining on the monster now, but then they reached a junction and it turned a corner with surprising nimbleness. They overshot the turn and Skulduggery cursed. He slowed them down, turned them round and they gave chase again. They'd almost caught up, when it turned down another tunnel. Skulduggery decreased their speed as rapidly as he could, tried to turn and ended up slamming into the wall. And then Valkyrie slammed into him.  
"Jesus! Skulduggery!" she said through gritted teeth, clutching her side.  
"Sorry," he grunted, "Are you hurt?"  
"Cuts, bruises. Nothing's broken. I'll live." she managed to get out between winded breathes.

They didn't continue the chase. It was too fast, too nimble. It knew the tunnels better than they did. They'd need to find another way to catch it.

Once Valkyrie had got her breathing back on track. She turned to Skulduggery, "What now?"  
"We go back, grab the corpse and get someone from the Sanctuary to take it to Roarhaven for a post-mortem. Hopefully, we'll have a report by tomorrow and then we'll have a better idea of what happened down here."  
"And the monster?"  
"If we're lucky it might die of it's injuries. If not then we'll think of something,"  
"That is so reassuring," she muttered sarcastically.  
"I do try."

* * *

They retraced the route they had flown on foot. Now that her helmet was gone, Valkyrie had to use firelight to see. Its red glow gave the tunnels a hellish quality and she wondered if anything else lurked down here.

As they walked Skulduggery phoned the Sanctuary and arranged for a van to pick up the body. Valkyrie paid no attention to the conversation. She was too busy peaking around corners and listening for footsteps. She half expected another surprise attack but they made it back to where they had left the corpse without incident.

Everything was as they had left it except for the location of Valkyrie's hardhat. Which had floated downstream a little and then gotten caught on the corpse. Skulduggery picked up it up and flicked the light-switch on. It still worked.  
"You should put this back on,"  
She wrinkled her nose in disgust, "I'm not putting that on. It'll ruin my hair. It's filthy."  
Skulduggery hesitated, like he wasn't sure he wanted to say what he was about to say but didn't have much choice in the matter. "Uh, Valkyrie, your hair is already filthy"  
He shown the light on her and she looked down at the long strands of her that fell over her shoulders. They were wet and tangled and covered in muck and monster blood and god knows what else. She felt like crying but settled on an angry wail.  
"Oh my god! Ew! Ew! Ew! Why didn't you tell me?!"  
"I assumed you already knew."  
"If I knew, I would have started yelling at you sooner!"  
"And here I was thinking you were being unusually calm about the matter,"

She glared at him and Skulduggery sighed, moved his hands and drew water from the air once again. Water droplets accumulated in a cloud above their heads and fell like rain onto both of them. She let it rinse away the worst of the dirt that had collected on her skin, clothing, and hair. It couldn't compare to a hot soapy shower but it was better than nothing. The rain stopped far too soon for her liking and Skulduggery handed her the hardhat which was now soaking wet but a lot cleaner. She put it on.

"Do you feel better now?"  
"Marginally," she admitted begrudgingly. The adrenaline had completely worn off now, and exhaustion was quickly setting in. She didn't even have the energy to yell at him any more.  
"Are you going to complain if I ask you to help me carry the body to the van?"  
"Only a little bit,"  
"Arms or legs?"  
"Ugh, arms, I guess," she said with a sigh and then, for his benefit, half-heartily added, "Have I mentioned how much I hate you?"


	3. A Strategic Retreat

Moving dead bodies was one of her least favorite parts of her job, right behind walking through sewage. Never the less, she helped Skulduggery carry the corpse back to the manhole, with only minimal complaining.

"You know, I hope you appreciate the sacrifices I make for you. It's not every hot seventeen year old who would be willing to spend her free time helping a skeleton move a dead body in a sewer."

He chuckled, "I seem to remember a rather annoying twelve year old begging me to take her on cases. I hope you appreciate that it's not every dashing detective who would be willing to take her under his wing."

"Admit it, you love having me around."

"I'll admit that watching you stumble around with such incompetence has done wonders for my ego. It really puts into perspective how brilliant I am."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm glad you value me so highly,"

"Valkyrie, please you are utterly _unvaluable_ to me."

She frowned at that, not sure if that was a compliment or an insult.

* * *

Once they reached the spot where they had first entered the sewer; they set the body down besides the ladder and stripped down to their normal clothes. Valkyrie was glad to say goodbye to the hideous orange fabric and over-sized hat. She shoved them both back into the duffel bag with gusto.

They left the bag beside the body and climbed the ladder back to the surface. The sky was lighter now and dawn was approaching fast. Skulduggery reached for his collarbones and tapped the sigils engraved there. A rather boring face with a large nose flowed upwards, hiding his skull from any passing mortal. Although she doubted anyone would be around this early.

The Sanctuary van hadn't arrived yet so the headed over to the Bentley and popped the boot open. Both Valkyrie and Skulduggery had gotten into the habit of keeping a spare outfit in the car, which came in useful for times like this. While the jumpsuits had done their job in protecting their clothes, their shoes were another matter. Valkyrie's waterproof boots were filthy but undamaged. Skulduggery's shoes were beyond hope of repair.

"A tragic loss," he muttered, taking them off and changing into the new pair.

"Let's hope their sacrifice wasn't in vain," she said, slipping into a pair of trainers.

She picked her boots up by the cleanest part of them she could find and shoved them into a plastic bag she'd found in the boot. Skulduggery gave his a sad look and left them laying there on the pavement.

A minute later a nondescript van pulled up beside the Bentley. Two Sanctuary mages she didn't recognise exited the van. Both of them looked bleary eyed and harassed. No doubt they were grumpy with having to work the graveyard shift so she gave them a nod and then left them to Skulduggery.

While he gave the mages instructions on what to do with the body, Valkyrie shut the boot and went to go sit in the front of the Bentley. _God, it felt good to take the weight off her legs._ She flicked down the sun visor and peered into the mirror. She gave an involuntary shudder at the sight of her hair. While it was by far cleaner than it had been, it was still mess. She pushed back her hair and spotted the shallow cut where the monster's needle-sword-thing had nicked her. The wound was small but it stung and the skin around it was raised and slightly discoloured. She could see a nasty bruise beginning to form on her check too. Not to mention all the bruises and grazes the rest of her body had suffered.

Once she had assessed her injuries and concluded that she didn't need medical attention, she sat back and watched Skulduggery direct the mages handling the body. After they were done shoving the body in the back of the van, Skulduggery came and sat in the seat next to her.  
"Do you want dropping off at home?" he asked as he put the key in the ignition and started up the Bentley.  
"Your house is closer, I'd rather just crash there again."  
"Are you sure? It's been over a week since you've seen your family."

She felt a jolt of surprise at that. Sure, she'd been working on cases almost non-stop with Skulduggery for a while but had it really been over a week? She thought back. She'd been so busy working on cases with Skulduggery she hadn't given much thought to spending quality time with her family. With the threat of war looming over them they'd been working almost non-stop to make sure no more disasters struck Ireland. They couldn't risk anything sparking a war between Sanctuaries and so for now her personal life had gone on the back burner.

Guilt burned in her chest but then pushed it down and shook her head, "No, it's almost dawn. By the time we get there everyone will be up and getting ready for the day and I am not going to school like this,"

"Fair enough,"

He took the car out of park and they began the drive to Cemetery Road. As they pulled out onto the main road she glanced back at the manhole they had just come from. She didn't like the thought of leaving the monster down there. What if it attacked more mortals in the meantime? Plus, she hated the idea that it had gotten away. She wasn't used to feeling beaten. But then she wasn't looking forward to facing it again either.

 _ **You know if you had just let me out, you wouldn't have to go back there. We would have ripped that monster to shreds. Gauged out its eyes. Torn off its limbs. Snapped those stupid skewers from its body.**_

Valkyrie sucked in a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then breathed out slowly through her nose. She concentrated on her breathing doing best to ignore the voice in her head.

 _ **Maybe we could have gotten Vile to come out and play. Now that would have been fun. Don't you think so? Valkyrie?**_

She turned her head and stared pointedly out the window. She watched the streets flickers by, glimpsed the sun rising between the buildings. Kept taking deep calming breathes.

 _ **Valkyrie! Hello? Are you even listening to me?**_

Skulduggery was saying something to her now. She turned her attention to him.

"I'm going to do some research once we get home. I've got a few books on monster hunting in my personal library that might come in use"

"As long your not going to make me help then I don't care." She said curtly. Instantly, she felt bad for snapping at him.

"Someone's in a bad mood," he teased. His tone was lighthearted enough but there was a note of concern underneath that.

"I'm tired, sore and desperately in need of a hot shower. Of course, I'm in a bad mood."

"What else is bothering you?"

She didn't feel like talking about this, not right now. So she shrugged and said, "You know I don't like losing fights"

"We didn't lose, Valkyrie. We're merely making a strategic retreat until we can come up with a plan to take down this monster"

"That sounds a lot like losing to me,"

"It's not," he insisted, "But that's not why you're in a bad mood. Talk to me."

"It's nothing. It's just...it's..." she didn't know what else to say. So she sighed and gave in, "It's Darquesse. She's in a chatty mood. She won't shut up,"

"That's not a good sign," he said softly.

"No. I know its not. But I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay then. So what are your opinions on polka music?"

She blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry?"

"Polka music. You don't want to talk bout the case and you don't want to talk about Darquesse. So talk to me about polka. It's got to be more interesting than whatever Darquesse is yakking on about."

She laughed and suddenly she didn't feel so bad. She ignored the voice in her head and focused on her conversation with Skulduggery. They talked about music, and then dancing and then other nonsense until the Bentley pulled up to Skulduggery's house and they got out of the car.

* * *

Once they were inside Valkyrie headed straight for the shower. She left her clothes in a pile on the floor. Then grabbed a healing stone and wrapped in in a wash cloth. She turned the shower on and turned up the temperature as high as she could stand it. The hot water was a great relief. It felt wonderful to be able to wash away the remaining grime. She covered herself in soap and then washed her hair twice until she was sure she was spotless. Then she turned her attention back to her injuries. Her chest and stomach were a mess of bruises but she could already feel the healing stone start to work.

Feeling more tired, but much cleaner and less sore, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. She stood there for a moment, concentrating on the air pressed against her fingertips. Then used it to dry herself. She grinned. She hadn't over dried her skin that time. She was getting good at that now.

She grabbed some cotton balls and a bottle of antiseptic from the medical cabinet hanging over the sink. She gritted her teeth and poured some of antiseptic onto her grazed hands. It stung like hell but she didn't want to risk infection. She knew the healing stone had some sterilizing properties but she was leaving nothing to chance. It would be just her luck to wind up with tetanus or typhoid or some other horrible disease, because Skulduggery had dragged her down a sewer without gloves.

She dabbed at the grazes on her hands and then moved onto the cuts covering the rest of her body. She hissed in pain when the antiseptic touched the cut on her neck. It was still tender. Now she half wished she had let Darquesse snap off those stupid skewers.

When she was done she put the medical supplies away and walked into her bedroom. She glanced at the clock by her bedside, it was half past eight in the morning. Her reflection would be on the way to college now. Her dad would be at work and her mum and Alice would most likely be in the kitchen finishing off breakfast. She sighed, climbed into bed and was asleep within minutes.


	4. An Array of Needles I

A loud knocking at her door awoke Valkyrie that afternoon. She opened her bleary eyes and groaned as a wave of grogginess washed over her. _Dear God, she was ill._

 _ **Well, this sucks.**_ Darquesse pointed out. Valkyrie couldn't help but agree. She didn't get sick very often but she loathed it when she did.

There was another knock on her door. She forced herself to sit up, wrapping the bedclothes tightly around her as she did so in attempt to stop herself from shivering.

"Come in," she called out. Even to her own ears her voice sounded weak.

Skulduggery Pleasant opened the door dressed in a new clean suit and looking as impeccable as ever. He strode into her bedroom carrying freshly laundered clothes and polished boots in his arms. A faint smell of bleach clung to him.

"You look ill," he noted, as he set the bundle of clothes on the edge of her bed.

"I feel awful," she moaned, "I think I must have caught something in the sewers last night. It's probably the plague. I can feel myself growing weaker already."

"Nonsense," he said breezily, "Have a glass of orange juice and you'll be fine. I think we've still got some in the fridge."

"No juice. I'm going back to bed." she grumbled letting herself flop down back onto the bed.

"No you're not. I just got a call from the Sanctuary; the autopsy's done and we've got a report waiting for us there."

"I'm ill. Don't I get sick leave?"

He gave her a sympathetic pat on her leg, "I'm afraid not. I need someone to help me go through the Santuary's records and see if we find a match to the post-mortem."

"Ugh, fine. But only because I know you can't manage without me."

"Obviously. Without you there would be nobody to appreciate my genius when I crack this case. Now, get dressed and I'll make you breakfast before we head off."

He left the room, shutting the door behind him. She took her time getting ready. By the time she made it downstairs Skulduggery had finished making breakfast and was busy tidying the kitchen. There was a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice waiting for her on the table.

"You're impressed with my culinary skills, aren't you? I can tell." he said catching sight of her staring at the food.

"You forgot the milk."

"You're still impressed though, right?" he said opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of milk.

"I'm impressed you forgot the milk."

He handed her the carton and she poured some in her cereal and then tucked in.

"So did you find out anything about this monster while I was asleep?" she asked between mouthfuls.

"I did not. None of the books I checked had anything remotely resembling the creature we saw last night. I did, however, find out how difficult it is to clean your boots."

"Thanks for that by the way, and for the attempt at breakfast."

"You're quite welcome, dear"

* * *

As soon as she finished eating they headed off. They didn't talk much as they drove out of Dublin and into Wicklow. Valkyrie's head felt thick and fluffy, like cotton wool. The longer they drove the worse she felt and she half wished she had insisted on having the day off.

Her vision was still off and it was difficult for her to focus on any one thing for long. Grey skies and fields of green blurred together as they drove down country lanes. She lent back, closed her eyes and listened as Skulduggery hummed along with to a tune she vaguely recognized but couldn't quite remember the name of.

The song ended, and Skulduggery stopped humming. The radio host announced the name of the song but the words didn't register. She opened her eyes. All she could see was white. She blinked but her vision remained unchanged. It took her a long moment before she realised she was staring at a blank white wall.

She turned her head and looked around, confusion filling her mind. Her sight was still blurred but she could just about make out the room she was in. It was small and unadorned. White walls, a white ceiling and grey floor. The Bentley's leather upholstered seats were gone. She was sitting on a hard cot instead. The sound of a radio drifted faintly through an open doorway. The whole thing felt surreal.

"Skulduggery?" she called out. The voice she heard was a dry and raspy whisper. Was that her voice? She looked down at her body. She was wearing a white clinical looking gown that left her legs exposed. Except they weren't her legs. Her legs were muscled and well-defined. These legs were frail and twig-like.

She tried to stand up, her vision swimming, but a strap across her chest and waist prevented her from moving. She strained against the car's seat belt. The cot was gone. She could feel leather underneath her once again.

"What is it?" a familiar voice asked. She turned her head towards the voice. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on Skulduggery. He was sitting in the driver's seat of the Bentley, his attention on the road ahead of him.

"What?" she asked her voice riddled with drowsy bewilderment.

"You said my name,"

"I...what...did I?"

"Yes, just a second ago," he gave her a quick glance, taking his eyes off the road for only a moment, "Are you okay?"

She looked around. Her vision quickly regaining sharpness. The radio was still playing. Everything was back to normal again.

"I...I think so. I must have drifted off... I was having this really weird dream."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." she said with more conviction than she felt. She gave herself a mental shake. Just a dream, that's all. She felt silly now. _Had she really called out Skulduggery's name in her sleep_? That could get embarrassing quickly if she'd picked up the habit of sleep-talking. But he didn't comment on it, for which she was grateful.

* * *

The rest of the car ride to Roarhaven was uneventful. They pulled up to Sanctuary, parked the car and headed inside. Valkyrie and Skulduggery nodded in greeting as they passed mages they knew in the corridors, but they didn't stop to talk. The atmosphere in the Santuary was tense, as it had been ever since the assassination of Quintin Strom. The memory of his murder and the tension it brought made the drab corridors they walk seem more unfriendly than ever.

"This isn't the way to the mortuary." She pointed out as they carried on walking past the stairwell that led down to the subterranean levels of the Sanctuary.

"No, it's not." Skulduggery agreed, "Nye preformed the autopsy and it still keeps insisting on using its own lab. So we're heading there to pick up the report."

She scowled. Hearing the words autopsy and Nye in the same sentence brought back unpleasant memories. "Did it have to be Nye? Couldn't someone else have done the autopsy?"

"I asked for the inquiry to be carried out as soon as possible. And It turns out the only one qualified enough and available that early in the morning was Doctor Nye."

Valkyrie was still scowling when they walked into the laboratory. Nye was hunched over a collection of vials with its back to them, but it turned to them as they entered the room.

"Ah, Detectives. Your reports are over there." With a long spindly limb it gestured to a table strewn with papers. Then it turned back to its work and proceed to ignore them, which was fine by Valkyrie. She didn't do small talk with anything that had tried to dissect her.  
Skulduggery picked up the reports and handed one to her before he began to read it. She opened her copy and stared down at it. Her head still feeling a bit fuzzy, she had to force herself to concentrate on the words in front of her.

The report covered the basics. The name, age, race and other demographical information of the man who died. Then it went on to list the details of the procedures preformed during the post-mortem. She grimaced and skimmed over the writing until she reached the heading which read: Cause of Death. The section under it was brief:

 _Exsanguination from a 4.7cm deep puncture wound in the left anterior descending coronary artery. The tear was created by the forcible insertion of a needle measuring approximately 3mm in diameter._

That was it. There were no other mentions of injuries. No more details that could help them. She frowned and reread the paragraph, to make sure she hadn't missed anything. Valkyrie was by no means an expert in physiology but she'd read enough reports like this to get the gist of it.

"So this guy-" she began, wanting to make sure she had understood what she had read correctly. She glanced down at the report, "This Jack Walsh. He was stabbed in the heart and then bled to death?"

"That's what it sounds like." Skulduggery said, "I suspect the spikes on the creature's front legs might be to blame."

She nodded, remembering the pressure over her own heart when it had attacked her with those sword-like appendages.

"It tried to stab me too, but the blade couldn't pierce my clothes."

"Needle," Nye muttered, in a voice it probably thought was too quiet for them to hear, "And more's the pity it didn't"

"What was that?" Skulduggery asked, his voice tense. Nye's head snapped up from it's work at the sound.

"I said 'needle'. My report specified he was stabbed with a needle, not a blade"

"Is there a difference?" Valkyrie asked opting to ignore Nye's earlier comment. She didn't particularity feel like staring a fight right now.

"Of course. A blade refers to a flat cutting edge. Whereas the tool Mr. Walsh here was killed with was pointed, smooth and hollow. In other words a hypodermic needle."

Valkyrie frowned. Her head was getting worse again, and she didn't really understand what Nye was suggesting. Did this mean a person had murdered the man they found? Because it wasn't as if the monster they had seen carried a syringe around with it... Unless, of course, those things on it's front legs were needles... She glanced at Skulduggery, as these ideas filtered through her clouded skull was tilted at a thoughtful angle.

"I wonder if the monster tried to inject something into his body and killed him in the process." he mused. _So he thinks it is the monster then..._

"It didn't just try. It succeeded. I found traces of an unknown substance in the dead man's heart."

"And you didn't think to mention this in your report?" Skulduggery said. The thoughtful look was gone. His tone a mixture of disbelief and contempt.

Nye shrugged, "You wanted to know how he died. So I told you how he died: _Exsanguination_. The substance I found had nothing to do with his death. I didn't think it was relevant."

Skulduggery's gloved hands clenched, "You didn't think it was relevant? Do you even know what it is?"

"I'm very busy, Detective. I don't have time to study every little thing that comes into my lab. And you did not specify that you needed to know anything about this man other than his cause of death. As such I did not consider identifying the substance a priority."

"Make it your priority." Skuldugery said coldly. He dropped the report back onto the table.

Nye bowed its ugly head, "As you wish."

Skulduggery left the room without another word and Valkyrie followed him back into the corridor.

"So what now?" she asked.

"I suppose we stick with the plan, see if we can find any trace of this monster in the Sanctuary's records. Hopefully we will, and it'll give us some clue as to what this thing is and how to stop it."

Normally, she would have complained about having to trawl through old paperwork, but today it sounded like a good idea. After all research meant she could sit down. Maybe even sneak in a quick nap.

 ** _If you're looking forward to research you're a lot more ill than you think._**

As usual, she ignored the voice in her head and instead focused on where she was going. This part of the Sanctuary was desolate. They didn't cross paths with anyone until they turned the corner and nearly walked straight into Ghastly and Ravel coming out of a meeting room.

"Your majesties," Skulduggery said, giving a mock bow.

"Hello Skulduggery. Hello Valkyrie." Ghastly greeted in a tired voice. Ravel merely gave them a strained smile in return. Both men had bags under their eyes and a defeated air about them.

"I take it your meeting with the Canadians didn't go well?"

Ravel sighed, "We've been up hours trying to explain what happened with Strom but they'd rather take Bernard Sult's version of events as the truth. You know how close they are with the Americans."

Skulduggery nodded, "That's unfortunate but not unexpected."

Now it was Ghastly's turn to sigh, "That's just it. We know the Canadians are going to side with the rest of the Supreme Council. But we have to try and reason with them anyway because that's our job. It feels like we're fighting a losing battle, and the war hasn't even started yet."

"It might not come to that," Ravel said quickly, "There's still a chance this might all blow over and we can go back to our normal lives."

"That's what we've got to hold out for," Ghastly grumbled, "But enough politics, how are you two? I heard you found the body of that missing mortal."

Valkyrie found herself leaning against the wall and listening while Skulduggery filled them in with the details of yesterday's encounter and their unhelpful visit with Nye. She nodded and mumbled words of agreement every so often.

The room swayed. Her vision swam. She closed her eyes in an effort to stay upright. Skulduggery was saying something to her. She opened her eyes. She was standing in a corridor, it was empty. She blinked. She was standing in a corridor, next to the three dead men. Skulduggery was saying something again. A question. He was asking her a question.

"What did you say?" she murmured.

"I asked you if you're okay?" He sounded worried. Ghastly and Ravel were looking at her with concerned expressions. She tried to give them a reassuring smile but it was hard when the world was spinning and she felt like she might collapse at any given moment.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Grand." she manged before her legs buckled. Skulduggery and Ghastly moved at the same time. Each one grabbed one of her arms and between them they kept her upright.

"She looks ill," Ravel said as he put a hand to her forehead, "I think she might have a fever. She's very hot,"

"So are you," she mumbled.

"She sounds delirious to me," Ghastly said. Ravel shot him a glare. She tried another smile but then she blinked again and they were gone.

Footsteps echoed on the linoleum flooring. She turned her head towards the sound and saw a group of three hurrying towards her. The woman in the lead was blurry but familiar. It took her eyes a moment to refocus and then another for her brain to process that it was Dr. Synecdoche walking towards her. Worry was evident on her face. She was flanked by two men dressed in nurse uniforms. Valkyrie didn't recognise them but she assumed they were her assistants.

"She's been ill since this morning. But she wasn't this bad earlier." Skulduggery said. Valkyrie blinked and realised she was staring straight as his skull. The doctor and nurses were gone. _What the hell was going on_? None of this made any sense.

"I think we should take her to the medical bay." Ravel said. She turned her head back towards him but found herself staring at Dr. Synecdoche again. The nurses stood on either side of her, replacing Skulduggery and Ghastly, supporting her weight.

"Stephanie, what are you doing out here? You're not supposed to wander the corridors alone." Dr. Synecdoche said. Her voice was calm and friendly but Valkyrie frowned. Something wasn't right here but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Her head hurt.

"I don't understand," she whispered. Her voice cracked when she spoke. It sounded as weak as she felt.

"That's okay," Synecdoche soothed, "I'm here to help you. I've got some medicine here with me that's going to make you feel better."

Valkyrie tensed as she reached into the front pocket of her white lab coat and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear liquid.

"This is going to sting a little bit, but you'll be okay in a minute." she said, taking a step towards Valkyrie. She gave a nod towards the nurses "Make sure she stays still."

Their grip on her arms tightened. She wanted to fight or run but she didn't have the energy to move. For a second Valkyrie thought the doctor might try and put the needle in her heart. But instead she reached out with her free hand to brush Valkyrie's hair back and then pushed the needle into side of Valkyrie's neck.

Pain, fear and confusion overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes as the last strength in her body left her.


	5. An Array of Needles II

When Valkyrie came to, she was back in the Sanctuary. She was being carried, bridal style, through a familiar hallway. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes, and looked up at Skulduggery. His attention was on where they were going. His jaw was clenched. She could see Ghastly and Ravel walking beside him, both looked grim.

"Skulduggery...? What's going on?"

He glanced down at her and the tension in his jaw slackened somewhat. Ghastly and Ravel glanced at her when she spoke. All looked relieved.

"You're ill. We're taking you to the medical bay."

She took a moment to digest that information. A swell of distorted memories came back to her and she tried to make sense of them. S _he'd been standing in the corridor listening to Skulduggery and the others. She'd been feeling ill. And then... Dr. Synecdoche had been talking to her?_

 _ **No,**_ Darquesse said with a certainty that surprised Valkyrie. _ **You were talking to Ravel. You called him hot.**_

 _Right..._ She vaguely remembered that now. _Ghastly made some comment about it. Then two men had grabbed her arms._

 _ **That was Skulduggery and Ghastly. They caught you after your legs collapsed, and that happened before you called Ravel hot.**_

 _Okay yeah..._ But then they disappeared, she'd been standing there alone, until...she'd been injected with something? _Yes, that was right._ Dr. Synecdoche had given her an injection. Even now, she could still feel the string of the needle in her neck.

 **That didn't happen,** insisted Darquesse.

Valkyrie's brow furrowed. _It must have._ She remembered it happening. She'd had the injection, she'd collapsed...or wait had she collapsed and then had the injection? Either way she'd woke up _...and ...oh..._

"Was I asleep?" she asked aloud.

"You fainted. But you were only out for about a minute. " Skulduggery answered.

"Oh," was all she said. _That explained it._

"How are you feeling?" Ghastly asked.

"A bit strange...I was having this weird dream and it sort of feels like I haven't woken up yet."

"Well at least you're looking a bit more lively now. You gave us quite the scare when you fell." Ravel said. They had reached the double doors that led to the medical bay and he held them open so they could pass through the threshold.

The bay was quiet. There were a few patients dotted about the place and a handful of Sanctuary personnel caring for them; running tests and sorting through paperwork. But it was no where near as crowded or hectic as it had been a few months ago, when the bay had been filled with victims of Argeddion's experiments.

Skulduggery, set her down gently on the nearest empty bed. Ghastly waved to get the attention of one of the doctors. Her stomach dropped at the sight of Dr. Synecdoche coming to meet them. It may have only been a dream but the memory of it still unnerved her.

"Grand Mage. Elder Bespoke. Detectives." she greeted them with a formal nod before turning her eyes to Valkyrie, "What happened?"

"I'm ill." Valkyrie said. She kept her gaze on a spot just above the doctor's right shoulder in an effort to avoiding meeting her eyes.

"She fainted a couple of minutes ago. We think she might have a fever." Skulduggery added when she didn't elaborate.

Synecdoche nodded and called to one of the nurses, "Could you get me a thermometer, please?" Then she turned her attention back to Skulduggery, "How long was she unconscious for?"

"Not long. About a minute."

"Did she obtain any injuries when she fell?"

"No."

The nurse Synecdoche had called to approached with a thermometer in hand. Valkyrie didn't know the name of the nurse, but she had seen her around the medical bay a few times, and she was relieved to see it was not one of the nurses from her dream. She handed the thermometer to the doctor without a word before heading back to her workstation.

"Open your mouth and hold the thermometer under your tongue" Synecdoche ordered, Valkyrie complied. But she could help but flinch when the woman accidentally brushed against her. _This is silly,_ she thought, _I'm getting all worked up over a fevered dream._

"39.3 degrees," the doctor said once she had checked the temperature reading.

"That doesn't sound good." Ghastly remarked.

"It's a little high, but I wouldn't worry just yet. How are you feeling besides feverish, Valkyrie?"

"Lightheaded, weak, my eyesight was bad earlier too but it's a lot better now."

"And how long have you had these symptoms?"

"Since I woke up this afternoon."

Synecdoche nodded, "There's a good chance, you just have an ordinary viral infection. We sorcerers don't get ill as often as mortals because our magic boosts are immune system, but it's still possible. I can give you a booster jab that will increase your white blood cell count. That should kill off most infections and get you feeling back to normal within the hour."

Valkyrie frowned. _Jab?_ She didn't like the sound of that, but before she could say anything, the first few bars of Elize's 'Itsy Bitsy Spider' resounded from Ravel's phone. He hurriedly excused himself from the room.

Ghastly sighed, "I told him to stop using that ringtone, but he never listens."

"That'll be Madam Mist then, I take it?" Skulduggery said.

"Yes, wondering where we are, no doubt. We're supposed to be discussing negotiation strategies over lunch before we meet with the Venezuelan elders this evening."

Ravel returned a minute later looking harassed. "I'm afraid we're going to have to love you and leave you. Ghastly and I have been summoned to another meeting by her ladyship."

"Have fun," Skulduggery said. Ravel grimaced, "Take care of our favorite detective, doctor."

"I hope you feel better soon, Val." Ghastly said.

While she said her goodbyes and thank-yous to the two elders, Doctor Synecdoche busied herself preparing the jab. By the time the doors had swung shut she had a syringe ready and waiting. Valkyrie recoiled at the sight of the barrel full of a translucent liquid tipped with a sharp point. This was uncanny now. What if her dream had been a vision of some sort? A warning of what was to come?

 ** _That's ridiculous. It was just a dream. Nothing more. Now stop panicking._**

"Could you take off you jacket, please?"

Valkyrie didn't particularly want to take off her jacket, and she certainly didn't want to be stabbed with another needle, but she did as she was asked. Loathe as she was to admit it Darquesse was right she was making a fuss over nothing. It had been just a dream.

 ** _That's right._**

"This might string." Synecdoche said.

Valkyrie gritted her teeth and braced herself. Ignoring the panic bubbling in chest. The needle did sting when it entered her arm. But it was a bearable pain. She dealt with far worse on a daily basis, during training or on cases. Never mind the times she'd been tortured and tormented.

"Are you okay, Valkyrie? You look... uneasy." Skulduggery said, he sounded worried again. She didn't like it when he sounded worried.

"Fine. I'm fine." she answered, trying to convince herself as much as anyone. Then it was over. Synecdoche removed the needle from her arm and placed a plaster over the wound.

"There we are. You should start to feel the benefits of the jab in the next ten minutes but it'll take about forty minutes or so until you're completely back to your full health."

"Thanks," Valkyrie mumbled.

"It might also be wise to run a few tests. As I said earlier, you probably just have an ordinary viral infection, which this will clear right up. But if you'll allow me to take a blood sample I can check for anything more serious."

"That sounds like a good idea," Skulduggery said.

"Sure," she agreed, because she couldn't think of a rational argument against it.

Doctor Synecdoche put away the used syringe and pulled out a new one. Unlike the old syringe this one was empty of any liquid. She used it to draw blood from the vein on the inside of Valkyrie's elbow. As she did so she happened to glance down at Valkyrie's hands. She frowned.

"When did you get these?"

Valkyrie looked down, realizing she was referring to the half-healed grazes that were scattered across her hands.

"Last night, we were monster hunting in the sewers underneath Dublin."

Synecdoche stared at her in disbelief, "You obtained an injury in a _sewer_ and you didn't seek medical attention immediately? Do you have any idea how many pathogens are found in sewage?!"

"I wasn't badly injured, and I cleaned all the cuts afterwards."

The doctor shook her head in dismay, "No wonder you're ill. A blood test hardly seems necessary now. Next time _please_ come here straight away."

She glanced up at Skulduggery, "And you need to keep in mind that while you may be immune to illness your partner is not."

"Duly noted, doctor."

She pursed her lips, then sighed and handed Valkyrie another plaster.

"Stay lying down for the next fifteen minutes. You can leave after that but take it easy for the rest of the day." she said, before adding, "Keep her out of trouble, detective."

"She won't be in danger of anything more than a paper cut." Skulduggery promised.

* * *

After she was done taking the Valkyrie's blood, Doctor Synecdoche moved onto another patient on the other side of the bay, leaving them in peace. Valkyrie was rapidly beginning to feel better. The dizziness and brain fog lifted and the general feeling of unwellness she'd had all day left her, leaving her mind clear and her body energized.

"Wow, that jab-thing is really effective."

"I take it you're feeling better then?" Skulduggery asked.

"Much better."

"I'm glad to hear it."

She smiled. Now, that she was on the mend she could appreciate just how ill she had really been. The whole morning felt like a distant memory. A confusing blur that mixed reality with dreams. Then she remembered how ridiculous she'd been acting and lost her smile.

"Ugh... I can't believe I fainted; in front of people! This is so embarrassing..." she groaned.

Skulduggery chuckled, "Almost as bad as all the drooling you did."

She stared at him. "I did not!" she said in a horrified whisper, "Please tell me you're joking."

He laughed again, and she relaxed when she realized he was, indeed, joking.

"Oh my god, I actually hate you."

"No you don't." he said. Then his voice became serious, "I am sorry though."

She raised an eyebrow. Apologies from Skulduggery were a rarity and this one was a surprise.

"What for?"

"I should have listened to you when you told me you were ill. I shouldn't have made you come into work today."

"Oh that." she said breezily, "Yeah, I'm furious about that. Absolutely fuming. Positively livid. Next time you better listen to me or you will face my terrible wrath."

He tilted his head and gave her an amused look, "Sarcasm dose not become you."

"Nonsense, everything becomes me. I am a very becoming person."

"If you're quiet done being silly, we have research to do."

She sighed and got up from the bed, "Alright, fine. I'm done. No more silly."

He gave Doctor Synecdoche a wave goodbye, and they headed towards the medical bay's exit.

"You know, if you were really sorry about making me come into work today, you would let me skip the research and take me out for ice cream instead."

"I'm not that sorry." he said as they entered the corridor beyond the double doors, "And you're not getting out of it that easily."


	6. A Temporary Respite

They headed over to the Sanctuary's hall of records and spent the rest of the afternoon burying themselves in dusty old files. Valkyrie focused on digging through death certificates and postmortems, in hopes of identifying any previous victims. Meanwhile, Skulduggery's efforts were concentrated on trying to find a way to bring down the monster. Both their searches proved fruitless.

Hours passed, Valkyrie's good mood had long since dissipated. Her eyes were tired from staring at reports. Her neck was stiff; too much time spent hunched over reports she reckoned. Her mind was going numb from boredom. And worst of all, Darquesse would still not shut up.

 ** _You do realize you've been staring at the same paragraph for the past ten minutes. Northing's changed. It's still not going to help you._**

Valkyrie exhaled slowly, put down the file and reached for another.

 ** _No, not that one. You already read that one. It's the one with the rabid badger. Remember?_**

She huffed in annoyance and grabbed a death certificate she hadn't yet looked at and began to read. While Darquesse's commentary may have been unusually helpful to her earlier, it was unwelcome now.

 ** _Wow. Death by chocolate... literally. I guess there are worse ways to go._**

She snapped the file shut and threw it. It didn't go very far but the sound made Skulduggery glance up from the book he was reading.

"Is everything alright?"

She sighed, "We've been at this for hours, and we still haven't found anything useful. I'm starting to think that this is the first time a creature like the one we saw has attacked anyone."

"That's entirely plausible."

"Then why am I wasting my time with this?"

"Because we have to be sure. It's our duty to be thorough in our investigations."

She knew he was right. This was just another part of doing her job, and she wanted to do her job well. She wanted to be a _good_ detective. She just wished it wasn't so frustrating.

"Please, tell me _you've_ thought of something useful at least. Some way we can stop this thing."

"Not yet, but I'll will. I always do."

She sat back in her chair, closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

"Why don't we just...I don't know, get a bunch of explosives and blow it up. That would probably kill it."

"It probably would. But even if we built a device that could be triggered by the monster without us anywhere near the blast radius; we can't run the risk the tunnels collapsing and causing structural damage to the city above. No, we need something more subtle than that. A trap, of some sort, so it can't outrun us."

 ** _Or I could kill it for you._**

She continued to ignore Darquesse. Focusing on the problem at hand.

"How do you trap something that big? It's not like you can just throw a net over it. "

"I'm still weighing up our options. But it seems the most feasible plan would be to create a trap by carving sigils onto the tunnel walls. Then we lure the beast there, activate the symbols and kill it while it can't run away.

 ** _It would be easier if you let me out. Just for a minute. That's all I 'd need._**

"That sounds like a good plan." she said. It certainly sounded a lot better than their usual plans. "What's the catch?"

"Well..." he began, then hesitated. "For a start we'd have to hope we weren't attacked before the trap was ready."

"As long as we're quiet, that shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes, well, then we have to worry about luring the beast there. It might be feeling a bit shy after our last encounter."

"Seems like it would be worth a shot though, right?"

Skulduggery crossed his arms. "It's risky. We need to consider other options first."

 ** _Like me._**

"Why? It looks like- oh." she said, as realization hit her. "You don't want to ask China for help."

"I didn't say that."

"That's why you want to think of another plan. You don't want to use symbol magic because you know we'd need her help."

"Again, I didn't say that."

"I could ask her."

"No. We're not asking China for help."

Valkyrie sighed. It was becoming a bit of a habit now. Trust Skulduggery to make extra work for them because he was to stubborn to talk to China. His anger was understandable, but it did make many of their cases more difficult then they had to be. And she was getting tired of doing things the hard way.

"I know if you had a better plan, you would have said something by now. Come on, Skulduggery. We're going to have to ask for her help eventually anyway. If not on this case, then on some other one where we need to use symbols."

"China's not the only sorcerer who's proficient in symbol magic."

"So let's ask them for help."

 ** _Or you could let me handle it. Save yourselves the trouble._**

Irritation flickered across Valkyrie's mind. She was getting sick of this constant commentary. It was getting harder and harder to ignore now. It was like the boredom and the tiredness and the illness had left her mental defenses weaker, and Darquesse was taking advantage of that.

"I'm not sure who to ask. The sigils we'll need not only have to be powerful; they'll need to be activated from a distance. Or at least triggered by the beast without us anywhere near it. And more importantly the barrier will have to hold the monster but still allow bullets or magic to cross. I don't know who could come up with something that complex besides China."

 ** _Again, I'd like to point out that none of this would be a problem if you let me out._**

"Oh my god. Would you shut up!" she snapped.

Skulduggery uncrossed his arms and gave her a look of surprise. "I didn't realize this conversation was so irksome for you." he said dryly.

She closed her eye and rubbed her temples. "I... sorry. I didn't mean you. I was talking to _her_."

"Ah. I take it Darquesse is in a chatty mood again?" His voice was gentle now, but he didn't sound happy.

"She hasn't stopped. I think she's trying to annoy me into letting her out."

"You have to ignore her, Valkyrie."

"I know. I'm trying. It's just...it's hard. Okay? But I'm dealing with it. I don't need to talk about it."

She knew Skulduggery would understand what she was going through. He was the only one who possibly could understand. But talking about it, would only mean thinking about it, and she was sick and tired of thinking about Darquesse. It left her feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. Even thinking about thinking left a lump growing in her throat. No, talking about it wouldn't help. She was better off suppressing all those terrible thoughts and violent urges, and getting on with her job.

"This is the second time in two days Darquesse has been giving you trouble."

"Can we change the subject please?"

Skulduggery put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm worried about you, Valkyrie. You've not been yourself lately."

The lump in her throat grew more painful. His concern was touching. Her eyes were going to start watering if he didn't cut it out. She forced her lips to turn upwards, into a smirk. Her heart wasn't in it, but she figured it was either that or start balling her eyes out.

"Don't get all soppy on me now, Skul."

He gave her a long look. Squeezed her shoulder, then let his hand drop back down to his side. "It's been a rough day. Take the weekend off. Go home and spend some time with your family. It's been over a week since you last saw them."

She jerked her head towards the sheets of paper strewn about the room. "What about all this?"

"I'll finish off here. Someone else can drop you off at home. Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with a better plan while you're gone, and we can head back down to the sewers together on Monday."

"Are you sure? There's still a lot of files to go over."

"Quite sure. I'll keep you updated on how the research goes, and you can call me if you need anything."

Valkyrie shrugged, "I'm not going to argue with any plan of yours that gets me out of more paperwork."

* * *

Skulduggery arranged for a Sanctuary staff member to drop her off. The mage wasn't particularly talkative so the car journey passed in an uneventful haze. In what felt like no time at all she was back, walking the streets of Haggard.

It was the early side of evening by the time she got home. Her reflection was back from college so she entered her bedroom through the window. It looked up from the book it was reading when she pulled herself over the windowsill.

"You don't look well." it commented, as she closed the window behind her.

"It's been a long week. Did I miss anything important while I was away?"

The reflection shrugged. "There was an exam on Tuesday, it went well. The next one's in six days. Fergus stopped by yesterday to borrow the garden strimmer, their's is broken."

"Sounds thrilling. How are mum and dad? How's Alice?"

"They're good. Your dad called earlier to say he landed the Belfry Road contract. He's picking-up Chinese on his way home from work to celebrate."

"That's grand. I hope you asked him to get the pork for me."

"I did," it confirmed." Are you ready to resume your life?"

Valkyrie nodded and the reflection went back into the mirror. She tapped the glass and a flood of memories washed over her. Nice, safe, boring memories that only added to the confusion of what had happened that day. Juggling two sets of concurrent memories was bad enough, but three?

She picked up the book the reflection had been reading, one of her Uncle Gordon's, and flicked through it absentmindedly until her mum called her down for dinner.

"You're looking a bit peaky, Steph. Are you coming down with something?" Melissa asked, as she passed Valkyrie an empty plate.

"I'm fine, Mum."

"Well, just make sure you don't start coughing all over the food. I can't risk getting ill with a new contract underway." her dad said.

"Congratulations on that by the way." Valkyrie told him as she helped herself to food. "What is it they want you to build again?"

"A bat sanctuary." he declared proudly.

"Seriously?"

"Oh, Des." her mum sighed. "Do you even know anything about bats?"

Desmond waved his hand dismissively. "I've seen Batman enough times to have a rough idea of what they want me to build."

Valkyrie laughed while her mum shook her head in dismay at her husband's antics. The three of them settled down to a pleasant dinner. As much as she loved her life of adventure, there were times when she missed this. She'd been so busy with cases recently she hadn't had much time for family, which she was starting to regret. With a future filled with so much uncertainty she knew she ought to be more appreciative of them while she could.

 ** _A future created by you._**

A cry from upstairs interrupted their meal just as Valkyrie finished her last bite.

"Oh that'll be the little miss looking for her teething ring." Melissa said, putting down her plate of half-eaten food.

"I'll go. I'm already done eating." Valkyrie said.

"Oh you're so good, Steph. Her ring's in the kitchen sink. Give it a rinse off before you give it to her, will you?"

Valkyrie smiled then got up, took her plate into the kitchen and washed the plastic hoop off, before heading upstairs into Alice's room. Her sister was sitting in her cot with teary eyes and snot dribbling from her nose. She took the teether from Valkyrie immediately began gnawing on it.

"That's better, isn't it?" she soothed. "There. No more tears."

Alice gurgled something unintelligible in response. Valkyrie picked her up and gave her a cuddle.

"You know, when I'm hurt I usually chew on some magic leaves. But I'm sure your plastic ring works just as well."

She carried her sister over to the rocking chair in the corner of the room. They rocked together for a while, Valkyrie humming some half-forgotten lullaby. It made them both sleepy. She was feeling ill again. The effects of whatever Dr. Synecdoch had give her earlier had obviously worn off now. Everything felt... fuzzy.

Once Alice was fast asleep, Valkyrie tucked her back into bed and stepped out into the hall. The lights were off and it was black out. She could hardly believe how quickly it had gotten dark. There were snores coming from her parents' must have fancied an early night, she thought. _Funny_ , she hadn't heard them go up to bed. Still, sleep sounded like a pretty good idea to her. So she headed back to her room, shutting the door softly behind her, and got ready for bed.

* * *

The pain in her neck awoke her sometime in the middle of the night. The spot where the needle had pierced stung like crazy. She gritted her teeth and looked around for something to distract her. The room she was lying in was dark for the most part, but a shaft of light coming from the hall, through the open doorway, lit up a patch of of dull gray floor. Nothing interesting there. Nor on the plain white walls or the blank white ceiling. The room was as empty as her head felt.

The throbbing intensified. She wished she hadn't woken up. It would have been easier to sleep though the pain. But she was wide awake now and there was nothing she could do about it.


	7. Signs of Madness

Light spilled through gap in kitchen curtains. A lazy yellow glow from the late morning sun. Valkyrie hovered in the doorway, watching the clouds drift by. Wisps of white cotton against a steel blue backdrop. Off in the distance she could see a field of emerald green grass dotted with grazing sheep. It was a beautiful day out. Picturesque even. It was almost unreal how pretty it was.

The back door opened and she jolted in surprise. Tearing her eyes away from the window, and out of her day dream. She didn't know how long she been standing there, staring, or what she had been doing before then.

Desmond gave her a grin as he entered the kitchen, through the back door. His sleeves were rolled up and his trousers were caked in mud. He smiled when he caught sight of her, "Morning, Steph. Fancy a cup of tea?"

"Sure," she said in a croaky voice. Tea sounded good. She hadn't realized how parched her throat was until now.

Her dad gave her a concerned look as he turned on the kettle. "You don't sound well. Are you feeling okay?"

 _No_ was the truthful answer. She felt sick. Her throat, her whole neck, burned. Her eyes was blurry. Her head was buzzing. But she didn't want to say that. It was silly she knew. There was nothing wrong or suspicious about getting ill. But she'd gotten it at work, and that made it a work thing, and the more separate her family life and work life the better.

So instead of saying _no_ she gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "Sure, it's just sore throat. Probably caught a bug or something at school."

Desmond nodded, "It wouldn't surprise me, schools are dangerous places. A breeding ground for disease. Absolutely, no place for a child. If it were up to me we wouldn't have sent you there, but your mother insisted. Remind me to tell her I told you so when she get home."

"Will do. Where is mum, by the way?"

"Out shopping with Alice. I can text her if you need anything picking up. Cough sweets? Cold medicine?"

She shook her head and ignored the prickling of fear edging onto her conscious. "I'm fine, really."

 ** _You're really not_** ,said the voice in her head.

"Shut up," Valkyrie muttered under her breath. She was having a hard enough time thinking straight as it was; the last thing she needed was Darquesse adding to the confusion. At least her dad was too busy rattling around the cutlery drawer to notice her distress.

 ** _You know, they say that talking to yourself is one of the first signs of madness._**

"I sai-"

The kettle whistled. The shrill sound reverberated through Valkyrie's skull. Her words of protest evaporated from the tip of her tongue. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.

 ** _Pull yourself together, Val._**

She took a few deep breaths and composed herself. Opening her eyes in time to see her dad finish pouring two cups of tea. She plastered a smile onto her face as her dad handed her a mug.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

He gave her a long look, then added, "Are you sure you're okay, Steph? You've been acting strange lately. And I'm saying that as someone who is referred to as 'that strange man over there' on a daily basis."

"I'm fine, dad, stop fussing."

"Alright. But I'll be out in the garden if you need me. Going to see where that damn stimmer's got to. Come find me if you need anything."

He left the kitchen, taking his tea with him. The smile left her lips. This wasn't good. She was getting worse. Like yesterday. Worse than yesterday.

 ** _Valkyrie?_**

She was shaking now. Tea sloping over the mug's brim. She needed to sit down. She took a tentative step towards the nearest chair.

It was warm in here, way too warm. And she didn't like the way the fluorescent lights glared down at her. They were giving her a headache. She forced her eyes closed.

She manged two more steps before her legs gave way. She reached out, blindly, to catch herself. The mug fell from her grasp, shattering as it hit the ground. But her hands caught the edge of the table and she pulled herself upright.

There noise all around her. Cutlery clattering. Chairs scrapping against the floor. Voices talking. It was too loud. She couldn't think over the sound of it.

She opened her eyes again. The kitchen was spinning. Blurring…

...and then her eyes refocused. She was leaning on a silver metal table had been bolted to the ground. Tea coated the floor polished grey floor by her feet. The room she was in was big. It buzzed with activity. There were people, around thirty of them. They were sitting around identical tables and picking at plates of plain-looking food. Most of them kept to themselves, sitting in silence as they ate. A few muttered to themselves, while others sat in groups or twos and threes chattering to each other. There was something familiar about them but she couldn't place any of their faces.

She frowned. This wasn't right. This wasn't her kitchen. _What the hell was going on?_ She turned her head wildly, looking for some clue as to where she was or how she had gotten here. It looked like she was in a canteen of some sort. It was clean and spacious, but there were no windows. Just a serving hatch one wall and a huge mural on another. Like the people, the room had a feeling of familiarity, although she had no memory of either her or the reflection having been here. But there was definitely something about it she recognized.

Her eyes flickered back towards the mural. She could have sworn she'd seen it before. It was brightly coloured thing. A pretty combination of brilliant yellows and blues and greens. It depicted a countryside scene, perhaps to make up for the lack of windows in the room. She gave it a hard stare, willing herself to remember. She stared until her eyes watered. Until she was forced to blink and…

…and she was staring out the kitchen window again. It was the view she always saw from the back of the house. Of course it was familiar.

She rubbed her eyes. Nothing changed. She looked around. Same old kitchen. There was a broken mug and spilt tea on the floor, but other than that, nothing was amiss. There was no sign of the canteen or the people in it. It was exactly as she'd left it.

 _Good God, what the hell just happened?_ Valkyrie thought, as she came to her senses.

 ** _Haven't you figured it out yet?_** Darquesse asked. **_Come on, you're supposed to be a detective._**

Valkyrie gritted her teeth. _You can either be helpful or you can be quiet._

Darquesse didn't bother to reply but Valkyrie was left with the distinct impression she was feeling smug. Valkyrie ignored her and did her best to make sense of what had just happened.

She'd been standing here in her kitchen, feeling unwell. She'd…dropped her mug? _Yeah. Yeah, that was right._ The mug was still there, on the floor, broken, and lying in a pool of tepid tea. Then she'd… fainted _. Right?_ She must have. And when she'd woken up it had been in a weird canteen that… that… had obviously been another dream now that she thought about it. Because that was the only explanation she could think of that made any sense.

 _Unless you've got an insight you'd like to share._ Valkyrie thought. Darquesse remained silent.

An intense spark of anger flared up in pit of Valkyrie's stomach. _Typical! Just typical,_ she thought. _Darquesse wouldn't shut-up the other day, but when she might actually be able to help, she goes with the silent treatment._

She hated her. She hated the voice inside her head. She hated the smugness and the arrogance and everything that Darquesse was. She…she hated everything that _she_ was going to be.

Her fingers curled and uncurled. Her fists ached for something to break. They shook. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. Her whole body was trembling now. A rush of blood filled her ears. Clouded her vision and-

"Stephanie?"

The pressure mounting in her head dissipated. The violent thoughts evaporated. Valkyrie blinked.

"Steaphine? Can you hear me?" asked a familiar voice.

Valkyrie blinked again. A young blue-haired woman in a nurse's uniform came into focus. It took a moment for Valkyrie to place her.

"Clarabelle?"

A smile flickered onto Clarabelle's lips, but it couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. "That's right," she said slowly. "I'm _Clarabelle_."

"Why are you in my kitchen?"

The smile faded. "Oh. Oh, dear. This isn't good..." she muttered. She reached for a pager on her hip and flicked it open. Her fingers flew deftly over the tiny keys as she typed.

"Clarabelle, what's going on?" Valkyrie asked.

Clarabelle bit her lip. "Just stay calm. I'm just sending a message to Doctor Synecdoche. She'll be able to help you. She'll just be a minute."

"That doesn't explain why you're in my kitchen."

"We're not in your kitchen, Stephanie."

Valkyrie's brow furrowed. _What was she on about? Of course they we're-_

Her eyes flickered across the room. To the mural on the far wall and the polished grey floors. There were people scattered about the room, sitting at metal tables, eating breakfast. A broken mug lay by her feet.

She took an involuntary step back. Uncertainty flooding her brain. This didn't make any sense. She'd woken up. She'd been dreaming and she'd woken up. How could she be back hear again?

"I… I don't understand. What's going on? Where am I? What is this place?"

"Stephanie, I need you to stay calm. Doctor Synecdoche will be here any minute now. She'll be able to help you."

The back of her neck prickled with unease. It was weird, this place, and strangely familiar. And Clarabelle was acting…well not strange, but decidedly un-Clarabelle like. And then she realised what was bothering her most about this whole thing

"Why are you calling me Stephanie?"

Clarabelle didn't answer her. She was typing another message into her pager.

Valkyrie's gaze turned towards the other people in the canteen. They were a mixed bunch, varying in gender and age, but they had one thing in common: all wore hospital gowns. _A hospital_. She was in a hospital canteen.

Her stomach dropped as she recognized the woman sitting on the table nearest her. The woman's body was scrawnier than it should have been. Her tousled blonde hair had lost its lustre, and the face it framed was more drawn and sallow than Valkyrie had even known it. But there could be no mistaking her identity.

"Tanith?" Valkyrie called out.

The woman didn't look up. Her gaze was on the cup of tea in her hands, vapid and unseeing. A blonde man wearing sunglasses sat opposite Tanith. He was looking at her with a lost dreamy smile on his face. Valkyrie took another step back. This didn't make any sense, the last she had heard of Billy-Ray and Tanith they had been chasing after four God-Killer weapons. How had they wound up here, in a hospital? It didn't make any sense. It was a dream. It had to be.

"Tanith?" she called out again, a little louder, this time.

The couple turned to look at her; neither spoke. Their blank stares held no signs of recognition.

Clarabelle reached out to Valkyrie, putting a comforting hand on her forearm.

"It's alright. You're fine. You're safe. No one here is going to hurt you," she said in a soothing voice.

Valkyrie shrugged off the hand and her eyes flickered to the other tables. She knew these people too. She knew all of them. The tattooed man sitting by the mural humming happily to himself was Finbar Wrong. A few tables away sat Argeddion, tucking into his breakfast. The group of three sitting together and talking were the Diablerie: Murder Rose, Gruesome Krav and Jaron Gallow. On the other side of the room, China Sorrows sat peacefully, sipping a cup of tea. The young blonde girl next to her with scars etched onto her face near her was Melancholia. And there were others... Springheeled Jack, Solomon Wreath, Nefarian Serpine, Dexter Vex, Eliza Scorn, Anton Shudder... Some of them were her friends, others were her enemies but all were familiar to her.

 _How could this be?_ Half these people dead. Nobody looked right, they were all pale imitations of the people she knew, and they certainly weren't behaving like the real thing. It was most certainty a dream. A really creepy dream. When she'd woken up earlier, well, that must have been part of the dream. A dream inside a dream. Any minute now she'd wake up for real.

A door opened. Reverie Synecdoche entered the canteen. A draft entered the room behind her. The breeze played with Valkyrie's hair. It felt cool on her bare legs and face. It felt real.

Doctor Synecdoche looked worried. She bustled towards them. Her lab coat in a flurry. Heels clicking on the floor. Clarabelle drew her to one side of the canteen, and the two women exchanged hurried words out of Valkyrie's earshot.

The sight of Synecdoche was still unnerving. The whole place was unnerving. She wanted to go home. She wanted the nightmare to end.

Valkyrie closed her eyes and waited for the canteen to disappear. The background noise faded. She fancied she could hear the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway now.

"Stephanine? Stephanie, I need to give you your sedative. Okay?"

Valkyrie opened her eyes. Doctor Synecdoche was standing in front of her now. She held another needle in her hand.

Part of Valkyrie wanted to protest. She was sick of needles. But, instead, she gave a curt nod. It was a feverish dream. It wouldn't hurt her. _Hell_ , it might even wake her up. Like last time.

The needle went in her arm this time. It stung. Dimly, she remembered someone telling her that you couldn't feel pain when you were dreaming. She couldn't remember who had told her that, or even if it was true. But before she had the chance to question it the world went quiet.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I just want to warn you that I may update less frequently and/or have a break before I post the next chapter, because I need to focus on academic commitments for the next couple of weeks. Sorry.  
P.S. A big thanks to everyone who has taken time out of their day to leave a review. You're all awesome and I've found your messages really encouraging. **_


	8. Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Stephanie? Stephanie!"

Valkyrie opened her eyes. For a moment everything was blurry, then Melissa Edgley came into focus. She was looking down at Valkyrie, her eyes wide and watery. She was holding onto Valkyrie arm, her grip tight with fear.

"…Mum?"

The relief was evident in Melissa's face. She let out a deep breath and her grip slackened.

"Sweetheart, are you okay? What happened?"

Valkyrie tried to sit up, but the world was spinning too much, so she settled on propping herself up with her elbows. There was hard tile beneath her. Its coolness felt good against her fevered skin. She realised she was lying on the kitchen floor, with her mum kneeling besides her.

"I... I'm not sure. I was having a cup of tea. Then I felt dizzy. I guess I must have fainted. I think I broke a mug. Sorry."

"Never mind the mug. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

Valkyrie put a hand to the back of her head. She could feel a lump beginning to form, her neck was stiff too, but she'd dealt with far worse injuries before.

"No, I'm okay."

 ** _You're not._**

Melissa pursed her lips, "I think we should go to A&E, just to make sure you don't have a concussion."

Valkyries stomach churned at the thought of a trip to A&E. Doctors…hospitals…needless. She was sick of it. What she needed was a break from all that.

"I'm fine, Mum. I've fainted before. It's not a big deal."

"When have you ever fainted?"

Valkyrie cursed herself internally as she realised her mistake. While she had fainted on multiple occasion, her parents hadn't heard about any of them.

She shrugged noncommittally, and hoped her mum would brush it off. "I dunno. Sometime. Must have."

Melissa didn't look convinced. "You don't look well, Steph. I think you should see a doctor."

Valkyries stomach did another somersault at the word _doctor._

"I'll be alright. I just need a lie down, maybe on the sofa or something," she said.

 ** _And besides, it's not like a mortal doctor can help you,_** Darquesse chimed in.

Valkyrie pushed aside Darquesse's commentary for the moment and focused on sitting up. The kitchen swayed when she moved. Her mum didn't look happy, but she helped her up and into the sitting room.

As soon as Valkyrie was lying down again, Melissa put a hand to her forehead. "You're feverish. I'm going to call D-Doc and see what they've got to say."

"Mum…" Valkyrie began.

"I won't be a minute. I just want a professional opinion." Melissa cut in, before Valkyrie had the chance to protest.

She disappeared from the room, and Valkyrie settled grumpily onto the sofa.

A quarter of an hour or so passed before Melissa returned; a glass of water in one hand and a couple of aspirin in the other.

"I spoke to a nurse on the phone and he says it's probably nothing serious. But they'll try and squeeze in an appointment for you around 4:30 just to make sure. In the meantime you should have some aspirin to keep your temperature down and get some rest."

Valkyrie forced a smile. "Sure."

Melissa handed Valkyrie the pills and the glass. Then she game Valkyrie's arm an affectionate squeeze. "I just going to go tidy up that broken mug and then check on Alice, but shout me if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Mum." Valkyrie said, giving her a peck on the cheek.

Melissa disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Valkyrie alone once more. She swallowed the pills with water and set the empty glass on the coffee table.

 ** _You know that's not going to fix anything,_** said the voice in her head.

Valkyrie gritted her teeth. _Maybe you know._ I _know no such thing._

 ** _We're the same person. What I know, you know._**

 _We are not the same. I am nothing like you. You're a killer, a monster._

Darquesse made a mental tutting noise. **_I'm your subconscious, Valkyrie. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can move on with our life._**

Valkyrie closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. _Will you please shut up?!_ She thought, desperately.

Mercifully, Darquesse did.

* * *

"I've contacted Stephanie's parents. They said they'd be here as soon as they can," a disembodied voice said.

Valkyrie tried to turn her head, to look at the speaker, but it was too heavy for her to lift. He – she was fairly sure it was a he – sounded familiar, but she couldn't quiet place it.

"Good. I'll ask Civet to push back my other appointments. I think it'll be useful if we both meet with them." said a woman - Synecdoche. Valkyrie had been hearing too much of the doctor as of late.

"Agreed," said the man. "This might be the first step on the road to recovery; we should both be there."

* * *

Valkyrie woke up on the sofa feeling groggy. A dream she could barely remember on the cusp of her conscious. From the kitchen came a clattering of pots and pans. A few minutes later, her dad arrived bearing two bowls.

"I've got some chicken soup for the soul," he declared, "Or stomach. Whichever, one's part of the digestive system."

Valkyrie smiled weakly at the joke, as he handed her a bowl and sat next to her on the sofa.  
"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Tired," she answered, truthfully.

"Mum says you've got a Doctor's appointment in Sword's, in a couple of hours."

"Yeah, something like that." she muttered, her mind already scrambling for a way out of it. She doubted she could talk her parents out of taking her, but it should be easy enough to send her reflection in her place.

Desmond reached for the remote on the coffee table and turned on the TV. He flicked through a few channels before settling on some old western about seven cowboys fighting off bandits. They watched it together, while they ate soup, her dad cracking jokes every five minutes.

Valkyrie's eyelids grew heavy. She set down her empty bowl and curled up into a ball on the sofa.

* * *

"Melissa, Desmond… come in." said a man's voice. "Have you met Doctor Synecdoche before?"

"We've not had the pleasure." Melissa said. Her voice sounded strained.

"It's nice to put a face to the name." Desmond added. He sounded more upbeat, but there was something forced about it.

"Likewise," said Doctor Synecdoche.

Valkyrie wanted to turn to them, and ask what the hell was going, but she still couldn't move. Her mouth was dry. She felt drugged. She _had_ been drugged. Doctor Synecdoche had drugged her. She remembered that now. d being at home with her parents. This didn't make any sense.

Footstep approached.

* * *

Someone shook her gently by the shoulders.

"Steph, wake up. We need to leave soon," her mum said.

Valkyrie struggled to open her eyes. She still felt drugged. But she was starting to wake up now. She forced herself upright.

"You okay? Do you want some more aspirin before we head off?" Melissa asked. She looked worried again.

"No, I'm okay. I'm just need to get changed."

She smiled, trying to reassure her mother. Then stood up. Immediately, her legs threatened to buckle and her vision blurred around the edges.

Melissa caught her arm. "Do you need a hand upstairs?"

Valkyrie steadied herself and put on a brave face. "I'll be fine, Mum. Stop fussing."

She climbed the stairs on shaking legs, but made it into her bedroom without collapsing. She shut the door behind her, stripped and then opened her wardrobe door.

Her reflection was gaunt and pale. She tapped the glass and it stepped out of the mirror.

For a spilt second the reflection looked confused. It opened its mouth like it wanted to say something. Then it clamped its teeth shut and resumed its usual blank expression so quickly Valkyrie thought she must have imagined it.

"Get dressed. Go with mum to the doctor's. Pretend to be ill, but not too ill. I don't want mum and dad to worry," she told it.

"Okay," it said, and turned away.

As the reflection dressed, Valkyrie grabbed her phone and collapsed onto the bed. She took a deep breath and speed-dialled Skulduggery.

He picked up on the first ring.

"I'm ill," she said.

"…Right," he said, sounding uncertain.

"I mean I'm _really_ ill. Mum's trying to drag me to that urgent care center in Sword's. I'm going to send my reflection there instead, but…" she paused, struggling to think of the right words. "I think there's something wrong with me. Darquesse said that-"

"Is everything okay up there, Steph?" Melissa called from the bottom of the stairs.

Valkyrie, covered the phone's microphone with her hand. "I'm fine, Mum! I'll just be a minute," she shouted back hoarsely.

She gestured for her reflection to get a move on. It quickly finished getting dressed and left the room.

"Sorry, Mum's fussing over me," she said into the phone.

"What did Darquesse say?" Skulduggery asked sharply.

"She said a mortal doctor couldn't help me."

"Did she say anything else?'

Valkyrie hesitated, "Kind of, maybe? Nothing useful. She's being annoyingly cryptic. Can you take me to the Sanctuary? Please?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Skulduggery promised.


	9. Some Answers, More Questions

Valkyrie got dressed slowly, listening out for the sound of her mum's car pulling out of the driveway. When the coast was clear she opened the window, and swung her legs over the sill. The ground beneath her churned. She felt lightheaded. Jumping from a second story window felt like a bad idea, but she could hear her dad talking nonsense with Alice downstairs, and she figured it would raise some awkward questions if they saw her leave the house twice. So, she pushed the vertigo aside, and let herself drop.

The fall should have gone smoothly. She was well practiced at it; but her reaction time was slower than usual. She displaced the air too late and landed roughly in the grass. The air was knocked out of her lungs. A fresh jolt of pain raced up her neck. She collapsed onto the ground, trying to catch her breath.

 _This is_ _ridiculous, s_ he thought. She'd been doing this for years. It was basic stuff. She should have been able to cushion her fall with her eyes closed and her feet bound.

Valkyrie could have laid there the rest of the afternoon. Only the thought of a nosy neighbour catching sight of her sprawled out on the lawn spurred her into action. Slowly and shakily, she stood up and made her way to the pier at the end of the road.

* * *

"The sedative I gave her is starting to wear off. She should be waking up any minute now," said Synecdoche. "She might be a little groggy at first, but keep talking to her. It'll help her feel safe and grounded."

The bed beneath Valkyrie creaked under the weight of a second person sitting on it. The bed was small, the mattress firm and familiar. There was a stack of pillows propping her upright, but they were too stiff, like wood. They made her neck ache. Someone took her hand. It felt firm and familiar.

With great difficulty she opened her eyes. White filled her vision. She blinked slowly a couple of times, trying to clear her vision. Black and then White. Black. White. White clouds. White walls. She felt so heavy.

"Hey, Steph. It's your dad. Can you hear me, sweetheart?" Desmond asked her in a gentle voice.

She turned her head towards the sound. Even that slight movement made her vision blur and darken around the edges. She could see her dad but struggled to pick out his features. It was like looking at an out-of-focus photograph.

A chair scraped loudly against the floor, and then a hazy image of her mother came into view. She brushed a stray strand of hair from Valkyrie's face.

"Mum? Dad...?"

Just saying those two words was agonising. They clawed at her throat. Coming out brittle and barely audible.

"We're right here, honey." Melissa said.

"This should help," said the man Valkyrie couldn't identify.

He passed something to Melissa, just out of Valkyrie's muddy field of vision. She pressed it to Valkyrie's lips. A plastic cup, filled with water. It trickled down her throat. Cool and soothing.

Melissa put the cup down. Valkyrie's vision began to sharpen. She could see that her parents were smiling but it looked strained.

"Where am I? What's going on?" Valkyrie asked. Her voice was weak and hoarse, but the pain was manageable now.

Desmond and Melissa looked at each other and then towards the room's other occupants.

The man who had given Melissa's the cup of water stepped forward. Small, old and perpetually grumpy-looking. She recognised him at once. _Kenspeckle_. Here. Alive. Standing behind her parents in this strange white room.

"You're dead," she blurted out.

The smiles faded from her parents' lips. Kenspeckle nodded his head in acknowledgement. If he was surprised by the news of his demise, he didn't show it.

"Good afternoon, Stephanie. My name is Professor Grouse. I'm a clinical psychologist. We've met before, although I'm not sure if you remember me."

He gestated towards Synecdoche, "You've also met my colleague Doctor Synecdoche before. She's a psychiatrist. We both work at North Youghal Estate, a residential treatment centre for young people with serious mental illnesses. That's where we are right now. You've been a patient with us for about six years. Do you understand what I'm saying, Stephanie?"

Individually, Valkyrie understood the words. But strung together in that order, they didn't make any sense. This whole thing didn't make any sense. One moment she had been at the pier in Haggard and the next she was here; with her parents, and Reverie Synecdoche, and Kenspeckle.

 _Gods,_ _Kenspeckle_ _._ She remembered his mutilated body all too vividly. Sliced to pieces with his own scalpel.

A new lump was beginning to form in Valkyrie's throat. She swallowed it, trying to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

"I was there when you died. I saw what happened... I... I saw the body."

Both her parents looked even more uncomfortable now. Kenspeckle didn't. He looked her in the eye. He had kind eyes. Alert eyes. Nothing like the unseeing glassy gaze of a dead man.

"Stephanie, I can assure you I am very much alive."

She shook her head. "You can't be. Unless..."

It clicked. The idea falling into place like the pieces of a puzzle.

"Nadir. He did something to me. He must have shunted me into this dimension."

The words tumbled from Valkyrie's mouth before she could stop them; but once they were said a great sense of relief filled her, lifting her heart. Sure, being sent to another dimension was dangerous and there was a chance she might be stuck here permanently, but at least everything made sense now. At least now she had a chance to do something about it.

She couldn't help but let out a little laugh of relief. The laugh turned into a rasp and then a cough.

Melissa tried to press the plastic cup of water to Valkyrie's lips once more. She pushed it away, and swung her legs out of bed. Everything wobbled.

"Stephanie, lie down, please. You're not ready to be back on your feet yet." said Synedoche.

"I'm sorry, I can't. There's been a mistake. I don't belong here. I need to get back to my dimension."

She gritted her teeth and stood up. Her legs trembled beneath her weight. Sweat dampened her forehead. She was much too weak. This wasn't right. She was going to pass out.

* * *

From below her came the sound of the crashing waves, from above, the cry of a seagull. Someone was calling her name.

"Valkyrie? Valkyrie, can you hear me?" Skulduggery asked. He sounded worried.

Gloved fingertips pressed against her wrist. Wooden floorboards pressed into the back of her head.

 _ **Wake up,** _ Darquesse commanded.

She groaned and opened her eyes.

"Valkyrie?"

She made a noise which sounded something like "Uhhhmmppphh."

"That is not a word," Skulduggery said, "But it is rather alarming. Can you sit up?"

Very slowly, she propped herself up onto her elbows. The effort left her breathless. She felt like someone had shaken a snow globe with her in it. The world shifted and swirled for a moment, before starting to settle.

"I'm going to carry you to the Bentley," Skulduggery said.

She didn't protest.

One arm moved to support her legs and the other her back. For a second, she floated. And for a second, she was back in bed. And then cool leather pressed against the back of her head. Someone gave her hand another comforting squeeze.

She did her best to focus. Skulduggery's skull appeared in front of her, then his clothes, followed by the rest of the world.

"Nadir did this," she said.

"Nadir? Valkyrie, I don't see how Nadir could have done this."

"He shunted me to another dimension."

"I think the fever's playing tricks on you."

 ** _He's right,_** Darquesse pointed out. **_Nadir has nothing to do with this._**

"You're supposed to be on my side," Valkyrie told her.

Skulduggery gave her one of his inquisitive head tilts. "Are you talking to your subconscious or me?"

"My subconscious. She's trying to confuse me. But I was there, in another dimension. I must have shunted back just as you got here."

 ** _You're_ _wrong._**

Skulduggery shook his head. "I've been with you for at least ten minutes now. I would have seen if you'd shunted anywhere."

"I'm not lying. I was in another dimension."

She wasn't sure which of them she was arguing with. Nadir or some other shunter sending her to another dimension was the only explanation that made sense, so she clung to it.

"Alright," Skulduggery conceded. "I'll keep an eye on you and if you do shunt, I'll make sure I go with you. But right now, my priority is getting you to the Sanctuary."

The passenger door slammed shut. A second later Skuludggery appeared in the driver's seat. The Bentley purred to life under his direction. Haggard slide from view, replaced by a picturesque scene of rolling hills and open country roads.

Skulduggery was saying something to her again.

* * *

"Steph? Stephanie? Are you alright?" Desmond asked.

He was still holding her hand, doing his best to steady her. She turned her head. Melissa was on her other side ready to catch her should she fall. The professor and the doctor were watching her carefully. She couldn't see Skulduggery. He hadn't followed her when she'd shunted.

"Lie back down, Steph, please. Before you hurt yourself." Melissa said.

"I... need to... go home," Valkyrie said.

"I know you want to go home," Desmond said. "I want you to come home too. But you're too unwell. You need to stay here while you recover."

Her legs buckled. She fell back, bouncing back onto the bed. Her pelvis hit the bed, then her elbows. Shock jolted up her spinal column. This wasn't right. This wasn't her. She wasn't weak. She was strong. She was Valkyrie Cain, for god's sake. Determined, she pushed herself back up into a sitting position.

"Stephanie, try and relax. You're safe here," Kenspeckle said.

 _Stephanie._ He and Synecdoche kept calling her that. Was that the only name she went by in this dimension or was it a ruse for her parent's sake? She wondered where her double was. This world's version of Valkyrie Cain or Stephanie Edgley or whatever name she went by, had a lot of questions to answer to.

"Look... I'm not who you think I am." Valkyrie said.

"Stephanie, please..." Melissa began, and then stopped as tears began to blossom in the corner of her eyes.

The sight made Valkyrie's heart ache. _This isn't my mother,_ she told herself. _This is someone else's mother. Not mine. My mother is fine._ That didn't make it any easier to watch as Melissa dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her shirt sleeve.

"I'm sorry. I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not your real daughter. I just look like her."

"That's the sickness playing tricks on you, Steph. It makes you believe that," Desmond said, his voice gentle. "But you are our daughter. My daughter."

Valkyrie shook her head. She realised she wasn't going to be able to convince them. It shouldn't have surprised her really, if another Valkyrie from another dimension had met her parents and tried to convince them that she was from an alternate reality... well, she imagined they'd handle it just as well as these two had. It was probably best she left, before this reality's version of her showed up, she didn't think they'd be able to handle the truth.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, and tried to stand up once more. The seat belt stopped her.

* * *

Skulduggery was saying something to her again.

"You didn't come with," she said, cutting him off mid-sentence.

He glanced at her, taking his eyes of the road for just a second. "Valkyrie. You didn't go anywhere."

"I did. I shunted, just a minute ago. You weren't watching."

 ** _You didn't shunt._ _You blacked out._**

"Will you, please, shut up for once!" she told Darquesse.

Skulduggery spared her a second glance. She could tell from the tightness of his grip on the steering wheel, that he was worried.

"Where is it you think you shunted to? Describe it for me."

"I don't know. It was this weird place, some kind of hospital for mentally ill people. My parents, and Kenspeckle, and Doctor Synecdoche were there. They said I was...sick. There were others there too Clarabelle, and Tanith, and Melancholia... And I...I..."

She let her voice tail off. It sounded ridiculous when she put it in to words. There were too many holes in her story. She'd shunted before and it had been nothing like this. For a start, when you shunted you disappeared from reality, her parents would have seen her. Skulduggery would have seen her. No, this was more like, well, a fevered dream.

"I imagined it, didn't I?" She said, flatly.

 ** _Ding._ _Ding. Ding_ _. We have a winner_ _. Took you long enough._**

Now, Valkyrie felt embarrassed that she could have believed this had been anything other than a result of her fevered brain. It felt more and more obvious the more she thought about it. Fat lot of good her deductive reasoning had done her.

"Sometimes fevers can do funny things to brains." Skulduggery said, kindly.

She bit her lip. "It's just that... it felt so real. As real as this."

"I'm sure it did."

"More real, in a way."

Skulduggery gave her another little glace. "We'll be in Roarhaven in ten minutes. Then we can see if the medical bay has anything that can help you."

She did her best to quell the shadow of a doubt that was starting to creep up on her.

"That was quick," she said.

"I may have run a few dozen red lights on the way."


End file.
